Comparison of two coproparasitological techniques for the detection of Platynosomum sp. infection in cats

Platynosomum sp. is the etiologic agent of platynosomiasis, a hepatic disease that affects domestic cats. The parasite develops in the bile ducts and gallbladder, causing severe hepato-biliary disease. Considering the importance of the disease and the increase in the number of households with cats, the aim of this study was to compare two different techniques for the detection of the parasite's eggs and to assess the frequency of Platynosomum sp. infection in cats. Forty fecal samples from cats of different ages, from an animal shelter in the city of Salvador, Bahia State, Brazil, were subjected to two different techniques: a centrifugal fecal flotation procedure in Sheather's sugar solution and centrifugal sedimentation in formalin-ether solution. Positive results were found for 12.5% of the samples using the centrifugal fecal flotation assay, whereas all samples were negative when employing the centrifugal sedimentation test. The results suggest that this parasite can be found infecting cats in Salvador city and that centrifugal fecal flotation in sugar solution can be a more suitable detection of the parasite's eggs at fecal samples. Therefore, platynosomiasis must be included in the diseases to be studied routinely in domestic felids.